OTTAWA — Amanda Kessel scored the winner early in the third period and the United States beat Canada 3-2 in the gold medal game of the women’s world hockey championship on Tuesday.

The sister of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel moved in on a 2-on-1 and roofed a shot over goalie Shannon Szabados at 3:09 of the third.

Brianna Decker and Megan Bozek had the other goals for the U.S., which got two assists from Kendall Coyne. Courtney Birchard and Caroline Ouellette scored for Canada. Marie-Philip Poulin added a pair of assists.

U.S. goalie Jessie Vetter made 14 saves for the win, while Szabados stopped 27 shots. Canada, which beat the U.S. 3-2 in a shootout in round-robin play, defeated the Americans 5-4 in overtime in last year’s final in Burlington, Vt.

The U.S. and Canada have met in every final since the tournament’s inception in 1990. Canada holds a 10-5 lead in gold medals, but the U.S. has won five of the past seven tournaments.